


The Emperor's loopholes, she thinks, are the best kind.

by orphan_account



Series: Fullmetal Femslash February 2014 [14]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/F, Femslash Challenge 2014, Femslash February, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 15:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1190103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ling is cooking up another scheme to bend the strict traditions of Xing to his will. This time it involves a wedding, an ancient caveat about heir apparents and heir presumptives, and two very confused, very joyous women.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Emperor's loopholes, she thinks, are the best kind.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Femslash February. Prompt G1 on my bingo card, "Accidental Marriage". I hated this prompt and had no idea how to work with it until my friend FalconKnightCordelia pitched I write out one of her headcanons. So, here you go. This is bad. I don't care. I'm just glad I managed this prompt.
> 
> Also, Ling is so totally a Shipper on Deck when it comes to Lan Fan/May Chang. Don't even start.
> 
> Set four years post-Promised Day.

When the Emperor of Xing called the Princess of the Chang Clan to His private quarters, not to the traditional meeting chamber but to the Rose Room deep within the Emperor’s alcoves, His head of guard checked and rechecked the _chi_ of the perimeter twelve times in as many seconds, sending tendrils of her awareness throughout the ground, the teak wood, the silk to search for whatever danger He may have perceived.

“Lan Fan,” the Emperor called, and His head of guard stepped forward from the shadows to bow stiffly at the waist. “Don’t worry. There’s no one here.”

She slipped a whisper of herself from the _chi_ in response to His command, retaining the vast majority of her network. Princess Chang sighed and shook her head, sending her braids cascading down her back. “Lan Fan, let me seal the room.” Kneeling, she tossed the alkahestry points to the imaginary corners of a five-pointed star. Lan Fan felt the _chi_ roil, brightening to blind her, and she withdrew herself from the Pulse immediately while the waves of energy rolled over the room. “Okay, now we’re sealed in. No sound, no nothing. We can all drop the acts. Ling, what is it?”

Lan Fan exhaled. Allowed her erect spine to curve slightly to a more comfortable, more natural position. Ling grinned; Lan Fan smiled to see his joy. “Have you finally passed the tax reforms?”

“Nah.” His grin widened. “ _Better_.”

She could still remember a time when she would say _this one_ and refer to him solely by his title, and the same with Princess Chang. With May. Her cheeks reddened to recall the days in which she had considered herself inferior to, much less _hated_ , May.

Who presently raised an eyebrow. “Better?”

“You know how I’ve been having issues naming you heir apparent? Best I could do was heir presumptive, right?” May and Lan Fan nodded at the same moment; the synchronisation made May beam and Lan Fan look away. “Well, as it turns out, my research into ancient Xingese traditions turned something up. Heads of Clan could name their retainers as their siblings and _then_ astheir heir apparents.”

May blinked. “Well, that’s, uh, clever of you. But I don’t know if you’ve noticed that I’m . . . not one of your retainers?”

“No biggie.” He waved his hands appeasingly; his opulent sleeves jingled. “‘Cause, as it turns out, there’s another loophole. Since the retainer and you wouldn’t be related by blood, you could marry. Which would mean that you’d then become my sibling too, but also part of my Clan without really being part of my Clan.” Ling clapped his hands together. “ _Whiiich_ means that I can name you heir apparent. See how it all works out?”

Lan Fan opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. Pressing her lips together, she clenched her jaw. In silence.

May had folded her arms across her chest. “So which one of your queer retainers do you want me to marry?” She wrinkled her nose.

Ling threw his head back in laughter, long and loud. While he wiped tears from his eyes Lan Fan and May exchanged glances half of questioning and half of mutual fear. “ _Exactly_ , May. Queer. But not in the way you’d meant.”

“But not in the way you’d . . .” The shells of May’s ears flared pink. “ _Ling_!”

“As it turns out,” he echoed, smirking deviously, “there’s no actual stipulation against the marriage of two women.” Stepping down from the throne, Ling clasped May and Lan Fan’s wrists in turn, drawing the women inwards to place their hands together. “So, what do you say? I know it’s not your ideal, but—”

Now it was the women’s turn to throw _their_ heads back in laughter, long and loud. “Not our ideal?” gasped out May, while Lan Fan clutched the alkahetrist’s hand for dear life. “My half-brother, you’re as dim as they come.” Ling smiled wryly. “When’s the wedding set for?”

Lan Fan butted in, not quite yet sure of her emotions rattling around her chest and snuffing out her _chi_ , her heart thudding between her ears, but more than certain of her decision: “At the Spring Festival. The moment the cherry blossoms bloom.” May blushed. “Because I know how much you love them, May.”

“Well, you’ll have to get Xiao-Mei’s permission to marry me first,” she teased.

“And you, mine.”

May’s eyebrows arched, and it took all of Lan Fan’s twenty years of experience as a restrained bodyguard not to kiss her then and there. “So, do I have your permission to marry you then, Lan Fan?”

She touched her chin thoughtfully. Tilted her head. Allowed the corners of her mouth to quirk upwards, to Ling’s inhalation of delight and May’s laughter. “Yes,” she said, and she had never been more sure of anything. “ _Yes_ , yes, a thousand times, _yes_.”


End file.
